


until another thursday evening

by pinkweirdsunsets



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Action & Romance, Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Childhood Friends, Alternate Universe - Criminals, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Canon-Typical Violence, Childhood Friends, F/M, Female Hange Zoë, Fluff and Angst, Gangsters, Hange Zoë & Levi Are Best Friends, Idiots in Love, Love Triangles, Mystery, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-09
Updated: 2021-03-11
Packaged: 2021-03-15 23:48:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,928
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29941263
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pinkweirdsunsets/pseuds/pinkweirdsunsets
Summary: and ever since they were only five, Levi had protected her, whether it was from the daily shenanigans she came up with or the criminal background he came from. She was his sunshine, messy and grinning, and he shielded her away from all terrible things.until zeke yeager came along.
Relationships: Levi Ackerman/Hange Zoë, Zeke Yeager/Hange Zoë
Comments: 38
Kudos: 76





	1. prologue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ➽ 00. prologue
> 
> ★ chapter playlist ★  
> 1:05 ───⊙─────── 3:35  
> 【take me to church by hozier 】  
> 【the night we met by lord huron】  
> 【another love by tom odell 】  
> 【one more time, one more chance by masayoshi yamazaki 】  
> 【メヌエット by masayoshi yamazaki 】

The funeral was an overtone of sombre hues.

Levi saw it in _grey,_ and he felt as if all the colour in the world had been suppressed into a muddy puddle. The dark clouds atop only added to the colour scheme, and Levi watched as the courtyard grew more drearier every second. The puddle Levi blamed for swallowing all the colour around him lay right next to his feet and so he took a step towards it, wondering if it was possible to inject some into his eyes again.

And so, all the colour in the world moved 15 steps away.

“Levi, you are getting mud on your shoes.” A voice interrupted his thoughts, almost bringing him out of whatever haphazard of a dreamlike state he was in.

Levi gripped his umbrella tighter, and clenched his jaw as he looked at his now drenched white vans. His distaste for everything not pristine tugged at his muscles, and so he rubbed the sole of his shoe against the relatively dry pavement, trying to get the mud off, “What is it, Mikasa?”

Mikasa’s eyes softened very slightly, albeit a rare sight, it wasn’t unusual for the young girl to often show concern towards her cousin, “It’s Erwin,” She began, pausing when she saw Levi’s shoulders stiffen, before continuing, “He said its important, you know, related to _that.”_

The monochrome grass swayed some more, before its dance was crushed by the feet of a woman dressed clad in black. Her hands covered her mouth, not that they did a really good job, to conceal the sickening sobs her throat let out.

Levi and Mikasa stood a few distances away, on top of some concrete. Levi’s gaze shifted from his dirtied shoes to the women, and then over to some more grave familiar faces near the casket where in the body was rested.

Mikasa waited. For his answer.

Levi kept quiet for too long, and Mikasa felt like the day had gotten a little bluer when he finally spoke. He pushed a thumb against a button on the cold iron he had been gripping, and the dark umbrella cloth fell into a depressed bundle. He turned around to see his cousin and was almost startled by the condition she was it. Red cobweb lines scattered across the white in her eyes, and under them, lay some dark concentric circles. Levi was almost impressed by how she had managed to keep the emotion out of her voice.

Well, Ackerman gene goals, he supposed.

And when Levi finally answered Mikasa, the muddy water that had been soaking his vans, had already fluttered across his feet, and he felt a cold numb tingle there. He looked up at the sky which to him, in contrast, seemed only greyer. “I see. I will be off then,” He replied, his voice a monotone.

Levi had already turned his back towards Mikasa when she called out to him again. He stood next to his car, the door half open as he prepared to sit inside. His palm rested in his pocket, and in there he felt his fingers graze a metal chain. And he kept on standing there, hoping Mikasa would understand that this was his version of ‘go on, I am listening’.

Mikasa pursed her lips as she realized he was waiting for her to speak. Clutching a piece of red scarf draped around her neck, she pulled it up to cover half of her face. She averted her eyes, that overflowed with emotion towards Levi, finally speaking up, “Levi, I a-am so sorry for what happened. Just-“She paused, suddenly feeling a lot overwhelmed, “take care, please.”

If the situations were different, then perhaps, Levi would have tried to look annoyed and answered her with something like ‘keep your nose out of my business, and also stay away from that yeager boy’ but with the looming dark shadows the wind carried, along with the wrenching sobs that echoed some distance away knotted themselves into something thick in his throat, almost throttling him.

In the end, all he could was sit back in his car, closing the door rather gently as if it was his only successful attempt in telling Mikasa that he was grateful for what she said. From his peripheral vision, he saw her look at him one last time before moving onto over the grass to stand next to Armin. The grass around her swayed in oblivion.

Levi, out of habit, fished out his phone to check the time but instead, his eyes fell on the lock screen picture and he felt the air in his throat come to halt. He finally saw shades seeping into his vision and near the edges of the wallpaper and something warm nestled inside his chest. It was a very normal picture, taken on a pink thursday evening, back when everything around Levi used to be saturated to dark and bright, and sometimes to something in between. _And it was all because of her._

Levi stared at the screen. She had mud all over her face, her hair a disarray of twigs and other things that fascinated her. Her pet frog, the one she called Chikachironi was perched in the curve of both her palms. Levi was right behind her, his chin resting on her shoulder as he looked down at the shitty frog with disgust. You couldn’t see it but he was holding a handkerchief in his left hand, and right after the picture was taken, he had pinned her down and rubbed the dirt off her face.

They were eight, and she was smiling way too hard, and everything around them was a mess of evening rivers.

And Hange? Well, she was far from pristine, but he loved her, so it was okay.

* * *

“What the fuck, Erwin?” was the first thing Levi said after spotting the blonde who sat on his sofa, a cup of coffee in his hand. The door behind him shut close.

“Levi,” Erwin acknowledged, his voice too serious that it unsettled everything inside the ravenette. Erwin placed the cup on the mahogany table and stood up at his full height, looking down at the man in front of him. “How did it go? The funeral, I mean.”

Levi’s eyes hardened and he felt like seething, “The funeral?” He spat. “A chit-chat about that funeral? Is that why you called me here?”

“Levi,” Erwin warned, walking up to the kitchen to prepare a cup of tea. “You already fucked up big time, you out of all people, getting attached to a mere woman. I would’ve never thought,” Erwin looked up from the cup he was preparing to Levi, his eyes a stern blue.

What Erwin said seemed to hit Levi right in the gut, and so his eyes unhardened but something unfathomable was painted in them now. His back sagged against the hard wall, and his fingers dug into the palm of his hands, “Hange is not a mere woman. She is not a shitty someone I picked up from the streets, Erwin. She is my –“Levi paused, he would have never publicly admitted that Hange was indeed his best friend, but he had to knock some sense into Erwin.“-best friend. Has been for the past 10 years or so.”

Erwin sighed. Of course, he knew Hange and Levi were best friends. He was there, way back when Hange used to make flower crowns for Levi but he was also there yesterday, when Zeke did what he did, and now all of them were fucked up big time.

It was afternoon but the room looked too dark. The furniture looked as if it had been untouched for years, which was weird because Levi, Erwin and Hange just had the most bomb sleepover two days back in the same room. The ceiling fan moved too slowly, creaking every once and now.

“And look where that got us. It’s just not us but Hange too. And it’s only going to get worse now, you and I both now how this works. Please, Levi, I don’t want to see another funeral happening the same week,” Erwin offered a cup of tea to him, but Levi’s fingers just dug further into his palms. His eyes had widened with horror as he thought about what Erwin said. “Levi?” The taller man prodded, now concerned.

“There are going to be no more funerals,” Levi gritted out, glaring at Erwin. “I am not letting anything happen to shitty glasses,” He walked past Erwin, their shoulders bumping roughly. Something very unpleasant had flamed in his gut when he thought about something happening to Hange, and that’s why he rushed to a room right across at the end. He had to see that she was okay with his own eyes.

Erwin kept on standing where he was. His arm still outstretched as the warmth from the tea seeped into his skin, “By the way, Levi? The face you just made now? Don’t make it too often or else people will think you love Hange more than just friends,” He mocked, his face morphing into something smug with full ease, taking advantage of the fact that Levi couldn’t see it.

Levi flinched at his words and his feet stopped for a moment. He didn’t bother for a retort, or to be honest, rather couldn’t think of something good enough to convince Erwin and himself too, that his love for Hange was purely platonic. He did however, repeat ‘Hange is just a childhood friend’ in his mind three perfect times, ignoring how ugly the syllables sounded.

Meanwhile, the cup of tea that Erwin held went cold.

The first time Levi opened the door of the room that Hange was in, the window was shut close and the room felt warm. She was cuddled into a ball with a bunch of blankets around her. Nothing new to see, Hange always hogged the blankets. Her brown hair was a mess spread around her and she snored softly, her body completely still as she slept.

As Levi walked towards her, everything grey he saw was suddenly bright with those same saturated colours from that pink thursday evening 10 years ago. His eyes softened as he looked at her, “Shitty four eyes, always getting herself into trouble,” He grumbled, pushing back some of her hair to look at her injured eye. He placed his fingers, very tenderly, over the bandage covering her eye. Something sad pooled in his eyes and he got up to leave. _I have work to do_ , he thought solemnly.

The second time Levi opened the door of the room that Hange was in, the window was slammed open and the room was suddenly too cold. The blankets on the bed were pushed to a side, and an empty hollow was present where Hange was once asleep.

And everything was grey again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> english isn't my first language, and this is also my first time writing levi and hange so please don't be mean. this fic is based on these HC's i came up with a few days ago. feedback is very much appreciated! i am also on tumblr with the same name, so hmu there anytime you want :)


	2. 01| feria quinta

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ➽ 01. feria quinta  
> 【 (n.) thursday in latin 】
> 
> ★ chapter playlist ★  
> 1:05 ───⊙─────── 3:35  
> 【peaceful days in kouka kingdom (yona of the dawn official soundtrack)】  
> 【tales of the four dragons (yona of the dawn official soundtrack)】  
> 【the path of wind; my neighbor totoro (chillhop [remix]】
> 
> the story will basically start this chapter and is going to build up to what you saw in the last chapter/ prologue. also, i changed the ages a little bit, now, levi and hange meet when they were eight instead of five. as always, feedback is very much appreciated! and i am on tumblr with the same name so hmu there anytime :)

The day Levi met Hange; the sky was a melody of parallel pink lines.

Now that Levi thinks back to that day, he is unable to recall the reason why he was present in that surreal quiet field in the first place. Maybe it was to run an errand, or maybe it was just the stars that aligned themselves like strings of diamonds submerged in an orange sea. Whatever it was, one thing was clear, it fascinated Levi.

And it wasn’t often Levi Ackerman was fascinated by things, but that day, the sky took him to a girl who was fascinated by everything her eyes fell on.

However, their interaction wasn’t as poetic as it sounds.

It was actually a complete disaster.

Because all Levi wanted to do was admire the sky, he didn’t sign up for whatever shit was happening to him.

“For the last time, I am not helping you find a stupid lizard,” Levi growled, glaring at her. Hange latched onto him, not caring about all the dirt she was getting on him. Levi’s face switched into a big scowl as he pushed her away, he was just minding his own business when she jumped on him out of nowhere, whining about a lizard called sawney or something. “Who the hell are you even?”

“You don’t understand how important sawney is. Please I’m begging you, come and help me look for sawney!” She had fallen on her knees now, looking at him with those big eyes that seemed as if someone had taken their pretty time to draw, the honey swirls and all.

Levi almost felt his resolve break.

“No,” He said flatly, his eyes hard as he looked down at her. Hange felt emotion bubbling in her chest and soon enough, her eyes were watering. Images of sawney flashed through her brain and her lips trembled at the thought of him being all alone. “Tch,” Levi looked at her teary eyes, starting to feel a little bad, “Just leave that shitty lizard alone, and go home.”

“I can’t leave him alone like this, I just can’t,” Fat tears were now rolling down her cheeks. “And B-bean,” She hiccupped. “Bean will be so lonely without Sawney.”

Levi’s eyes widened with horror, “T-there are…..t-two?” Hange merely blinked at his question, as if having two pet lizards was the most normal thing in the world. Levi was now shaking his head in disbelief, “I am done,” He whispered, turning around to go somewhere far far far away from her.

“Wait! Don’t go, there is something-“Hange scrambled over to Levi with shining eyes, before Levi looked back at her with dark eyes, making her flinch and stop-mid sentence.

“Listen here, you shitty glasses. I am not helping you look for sawney or whatever disgusting creatures you associate yourself with,” Levi warned, his eyes narrowing dangerously when he saw Hange open her mouth. Beating her to it, he dropped his voice to a whisper, “Do you understand or not?”

He expected Hange to recoil back, to be intimidated after that last glare he shot her and finally leave him the fuck alone. But, instead, she …. Ignored him? Her eyes were solely focused on his shoulder, and he watched as the shine returned to her eyes. Her eyes, which reminded him of the hot chocolate his mother used to make on winter nights, brimmed with so much happiness; he thought she was going to combust.

And that’s when he felt it, it was a warm, wet and sticky feeling, numbing his shoulder. Zaps of shock flashed through his veins, paralyzing him in one place. Hange had never seen someone so disturbed before in her life. Bile rose up to his throat, and he reluctantly twisted his neck to look down at his shoulder.

Sawney sat there, in all its fine glory. His tongue was outstretched, damping the fabric of his shirt and his beady eyes were staring daggers straight into Levi’s soul.

Hange thought they looked like long lost lovers.

Some crickets chirped in the background, and the soft green grass pricked Hange’s knees like needles. Or maybe it was just the anxiety and not the grass. It was a quiet field really, fenced by a circle of Oakwood trees. They were yellow and red and green, and between them lay a meadow of flowers Hange named herself. The wind fluttered around carrying the sound of water hitting rocks, and then it fluttered once again, this time carrying the sound of a high pitched shriek.

Levi’s whole body shook animatedly, and Hange felt as if she was looking at a cat that had been dumped into a bucket of cold water. “What the hell you laughing for?!” Levi screeched, jumping up and down, trying to get sawney off his shoulder. “Please,” He was pleading now. “Get this thing off me.”

“You sure do say a lot of bad words,” Hange pointed out, enjoying this a little too much. Levi glared at her or rather tried to; the panic in his eyes was just too much for him to suddenly cover up and look scary and intimidating. Not much time after, Sawney finally decided that Levi had suffered enough so it jumped off his shoulder to skip across the ground before finally perching into Hange’s palm.

Levi fell to the ground with a relieved sigh, his chest heaving as he tried to catch his breath. Hange simply smiled at him, and then hugged sawney close to her chest. “Say, what’s your name?” Hange looked up at him, her orbs flaring with curiosity.

The sound of a nearby river filling in through the different cracks between rocks was loud when Levi shot her an angry pout. “Shut up, and don’t talk to me. I hate you and your shitty lizard,” He grumbled furiously, his palm fisting around some grass tightly.

Hange was apparently very offended after hearing this, and so she spread her arms around like a maniac, “Please, tell me your name. If you tell me your name, I will introduce you to Bean.”

“What!” Levi’s neck jerked too fast. “I don’t want to see any of those disgusting things ever again,” Levi had already decided that he was never going to forgive Hange for today, in fact today was the first and last day he was ever going to interact with this weirdo.

It was now Hange’s turn to pout at him, “But why?” She whined, insulted. And then her face lighted up and she looked at him with an expectant gaze, “Aah, I see you are a little shaken up after what happened with Sawney. Don’t worry though, I am sure you both will get along in no time,” She declared cheerfully. “Oh, and-“ She started again, and her face looked funny, as if she was trying to hold in the urge to laugh, “You scream like a girl,” Her face looked absolutely ridiculous now, her cheeks were all red and puffed up. Levi had never seen someone so bad at holding back their laughter, c’mon now, it was painfully obvious.

Obviously Hange couldn’t hold it back forever, and when she saw Levi’s face contort into something very mad, along with the pink dust that scattered like pollen at the tips of his ears, she let it all out and laughed so hard that it echoed back and forth against the Oakwood trees around them. “S-shut up, you stupid shitty glasses. You are the shittiest and weirdest person I have met,” Levi fumed back, throwing the grass he had fisted at her face.

There was mud and grass and twigs all over her, and the wind fluttered for the third time again, this time carrying Hange’s laughter and Levi wondered why the world looked a little more colorful than yesterday.

* * *

And that night, when Levi went home, he was in the bath for way too long, that Kuchel had to knock several times to get him out. Kuchel also, had been very confused when she saw her eight year old son complaining about the bath not being enough, weird girls and lizards. So, she prepared some hot chocolate for him and all Levi could think of was Hange’s brown eyes. And when near bedtime, Kuchel sat next to him with some yarn and wool, all Levi could think was that how the sweater they knitted together was as colorful as the world had been earlier that day with her.

And when at midnight, the door to their house was opened and his uncle stepped in under the moonless night, all Levi could think was how the blood splattered on his dagger was as messy as that weird girl he met that day.

* * *

The next day when Kenny helped Levi polish his new shoes, the sun was glaring down from the sky and the birds squeaked outside his house waiting for Kuchel to feed them. Kenny offered to help him wear his bag but Levi just moved away from him, well not before giving his uncle a pointed look that screamed ‘I am completely fine on my own’.

“Aah Kuchel, you really raised this one fussy as hell,” Kenny commented, his hand reaching to ruffle Levi’s hair but the ravenette was faster, and so he dodged. Levi walked over to Kuchel who kneeled down to plant a soft kiss on his forehead. Kenny frowned at the sight before letting out an obnoxious chuckle, “Such a mama’s boy.”

“Now Kenny, don’t trouble my son,” Kuchel scolded playfully. “It’s his first day of school today, after all,” She winked.

The doorbell rang and Levi looked at the door with a bored expression, “Erwin’s here,” He stated flatly and walked out to open the door. Before leaving, he looked back at Kuchel who was waving at him with a smile and telling him something along the lines of ‘behave yourself’ and ‘make new friends’ and everything else in between. Levi simply waved back and then proceeded to nod at Kenny. And then he was off.

As soon as the door was shut close, it felt as if a wave of exhaustion washed over the two adults in the room. Kuchel’s smile dropped, and her face relaxed with sadness. Kenny slumped against the red couch, fishing out his phone to check something and then cursed under his breath-at whatever he saw on the screen. This caught Kuchel’s attention and she gazed in his direction pointedly, “Kenny, this reminds me of something,” She started, her voice a little stern. “You need to mind your language around Levi. Just a few days back, I heard him say ‘shitty’,” She reprimanded.

Kenny shrugged, “Shitty isn’t really that big of a deal. Maybe if he started saying fuc-“He was interrupted when Kuchel threw a pillow at him. He looked at his sister who was standing with her hands on her hips now, glaring at him. She looked so much like Levi at the moment, it low-key scared him.

“For the love of god, Kenny! Levi is only eight!”

Kenny laughed. “Don’t worry, little sis. He has a friend like Erwin, he won’t get spoiled that easily. I mean have you seen Smith’s son? Still can’t believe that bastard managed to raise such a well-mannered boy.”

Kuchel sighed with a ghost of smile on her lips, “I adore Erwin, I really do. But sometimes I wish Levi had someone …. less serious in his life,” She mused.

Kenny’s eyes hardened, “Kuchel,” He warned. “You and I both know how risky it is for him to get attached to someone out of this business circle. We can’t endanger lives of innocents, not again, especially after _that_ incident.” Kenny muttered, his voice a pained soft whisper, and yet it punched Kuchel harder than a piece of steel, but yet before the situation could get worse, Kenny laughed again, “C’mon sis, be honest, Levi would probably scare away anyone ‘less serious and more happy’ in his life.”

Kuchel smiled, it was a fake one, yes, but she did smile. Grabbing out stacks of paper, she slammed them on the table, “Now, now brother, it’s time to count last month’s kill count, isn’t it?”

* * *

The door was shut behind Levi and he looked around. Where the hell did Erwin disappear after ringing the bell? However, it didn’t take Levi much time to find the blonde. Erwin stood in front of a girl _, aah, Marie, wasn’t that her name?_ Levi tried to recall. From the looks of it, Erwin looked flustered as he rubbed his hand on the back of his neck. Levi went over to stand behind and poked the taller boy on his back.

Erwin looked startled as he turned around, “Oh, Levi? You scared me.”

“Well, I am naturally terrifying,” Levi commented with a poker face.

Marie interrupted their little banter with a smile, “Well then Erwin, I will be off. See you at school!”

Levi noticed how Erwin waved back and stared at her retreating figure with a blush on his face, and so the shorter boy took the opportunity and smirked a little, “By the way Erwin? The face you just made now? Don’t make it too often or else people will think you love Marie more than just friends.”

Erwin gaped like a fish at the comment and averted his eyes to the ground, grumbling about how they were just friends. Levi continued to walk to school, all the while keeping a smug expression on his face. He wasn’t the kind to have a lot of friends, but he did know a lot of people due to his uncle. Kenny had a lot of close friends, and all of them sent their children to the same school as Levi. The ravenette liked Erwin the best out of all other brats; Erwin was tolerable and kept himself organised. Sure, he was very tall and that annoyed Levi, but he could still let that pass.

“Oh, Levi did you know? There’s going to be a new student in our class,” Erwin said. Levi frowned a little; it was not very often new children came into their school. The town they lived in was small and everyone knew each other since how long they could remember. New families shifting in were rare.

By the time, Erwin and Levi reached their school; they had more company than just each other. Petra and her squad were bouncing behind them. They were a year younger to him, and Levi convinced himself that they were pretty okay, especially Petra, she kept herself clean and neat all the time.

“Is that Nifa?” Petra exclaimed, pointing at a red head running towards them, or specifically towards Levi. Nifa fell into a heap as soon as she reached Levi and looked up at him, panting and out of breath. Levi raised an eyebrow.

“It’s Mikasa,” Her chest heaved up and down, “She got into a fight with Annie,” Nifa took another deep breath and exhaled with panic, “Go stop her Levi.”

Levi twitched. Why should he be babysitting that brat? With a ‘tch’, he walked around Nifa. When he reached Mikasa, she was already straddling Annie with her hands around the other girl’s throat. Levi looked at her with stern eyes, “Oi, brat. What is this?” He barked.

Mikasa looked at him blankly, “I wanted to play with Ereh.” She then pointed at Annie, “But she interrupted it.”

Levi raised a brow, “Huh? Who is Ereh?”

“I see! She means Eren! Eren Yeager, he is Zeke’s younger brother,” Aurou declared from behind Levi, making him give Aurou an irritated look. Erwin, Petra and the others finally reached them, taking in the extent of whatever was happening.

Levi’s eyes darkened to a complete black and Erwin swore he could see some fume coming out of his ears, “Zeke? That monkey?” He spat poisonously, “Listen here brat,” He glared at Mikasa, “Stay away from this Eren boy and his entire family, you understand?”

Mikasa simply stood up and kicked Levi on the shin, “Shut up,” She stated nonchalantly and then walked away to Armin. The grass around her swayed in oblivion.

Behind, Aurou snickered before a murderous glance from Levi stopped him dead in his tracks.

* * *

“But why does Levi hate Zeke so much, after all?” Petra whispered to Erwin, glancing to see if the said boy heard. Levi was busy cleaning his desk with a handkerchief, and Petra sighed in relief.

“It’s a long story, Petra. Basically its some kind of rivalry, don’t worry, I will tell you one day,” Erwin whispered back. Petra was going to say something back, but Ms Frieda, their teacher clapped her hands to get the class’s attention.

“As you all know, we have a new student joining us today. So please be nice to her,” She chirped brightly. “Her name is Hange Zoe!”

Levi kept on rubbing at that one spot where dust had collected. He insulted everyone who couldn’t keep their surroundings clean in his head, _what a bunch of pigs_ ; he grimaced, not once paying attention to whatever their teacher was saying. As soon as the word ‘pigs’ appeared in his mind, it was immediately replaced with another imagery of a pink sky, very green grass and a weird girl with too much dirt on her face. Levi’s hand momentarily stopped, he can’t believe he had almost forgotten about her, well not that it was a big deal, really, it’s not like he was ever going to meet her again.

Levi’s eyes were glued to whatever cleaning task he had busied himself with. And they stayed glued even when he heard the sound of someone slamming their head against the door, and when the door was opened, and when someone walked in, and when a wave of collective gasps washed over around him. And when she finally spoke, her voice reaching him like a ton of bricks rolling down a cliff, his eyes stayed glued to the desk then too, the only difference was that it was not only his eyes that stayed stuck, it was his entire body, his hands, and feet and everything else.

_No way …….._

When he finally mustered up the courage to look up at her, their eyes met and Levi felt his breath hitch. Her hair was messily tied in a high ponytail, strands sticking out here and there. At least, she didn’t have any dirt on her face, Levi noticed with relief. Her cheeks were flustered and she smiled at him, shooting her hand up, the next thing she did was wave at him in front of the entire class.

All eyes turned on him and all he wanted to do was slam Hange Zoe’s head against a wall.

Levi was sure the world was out to get him, because ever since that day Hange followed him around like a puppy, Levi tried to calm down and tell her to politely fuck off, but literally nothing passed through her thick head. He had always knows he wasn’t a people person but no one made him feel the way Hange did. Levi was used to seeing everything in a monochrome veil, but every time she was around, it felt as if someone was dragging away that cloak with excruciating care. It was suddenly too bright and the saturation too high for Levi’s eyes to not burn into crisp.

He absolutely hated her, she was like the sun and he was caught in her orbit, the flames were shrouding around him, groping at his eyes and skin, and all he wanted was to get away.

“For the last time, I am not going to build a sandcastle for your shitty lizards. How much crap is filled in your brain for you to not understand simple English?” Levi growled, pulling up his school bag over his shoulder.

“But Leevaii!” Hange pulled the strap of his bag, “Aren’t we best friends?”

Levi almost choked, “What? No?”

“What? Yes! We became best friends the day you rescued sawney,” Hange clapped her hands together. “Levi is like my hero!” She grinned.

Levi felt the walls of his heart contract thrice after she called him her hero. Shaking his head to get rid of all traitorous emotions that peeped at him, he grabbed his bag back with a little too much force, “No means no. Just leave me, alone you shitty stupid weirdo.”

Hange’s lips pursed together and she looked at him with those shitty trembling doe eyes, and Levi thought that she finally had a moment of realization and would leave him alone.

But she jumped on him again the next day.

And then again the day after the next, and again and again until a complete week was coming to an end.

It was on the curve of the 7th day of the week, when Hange finally gave up. Nothing major really happened, though, all it took was for Levi to say that he hated her, and the girl bowed her head down, her hair morphing into a shield so thick until he couldn’t see those glasses and the honey swirls behind them.

And then she walked away, and never turned back.

Levi told himself that life would finally go back to normal after that incident, but in fact, it didn’t and nothing was ever the same. Every day, the ravenette would feel the cold gust push against his hair as he watched Petra and the others play tea party together. The same gust would push against his hair, when a couple of miles away he’d see Hange playing together with rocks.

And maybe, just maybe, he would feel a little heavier on the inside when he walked back home.

* * *

The day Levi played tea party with Hange for the first time was also the day he witnessed murder in front of his own eyes for the first time.

Kuchel kneeled down to fix the collar of Levi’s shirt, “Baby, you are almost nine now, it’s time to make some new friends except Erwin, isn’t it?” She suggested, pushing back Kenny’s warning to the very very back of her mind.

Levi waited to chew and gulp down his breakfast before wiping his face with a napkin, “Erwin is enough,” He stated finally. “And there is Petra and her group too, maybe,” He added as an afterthought.

Kuchel sighed sadly, “We both know how much you talk to Petra,” She paused, “…. and Erwin too. You ignore both of them most of the time.” She cupped his face in her hands and smiled sweetly, “Maybe, hearing ‘I made a new friend today, mama’ from you after school won’t be so bad.”

Levi kept his silence and instead leaned over to kiss her cheek, and then patiently decided to wait for his daily forehead kiss. Kuchel laughed at her grumpy son, ready to give him what he wanted before she was interrupted by Kenny.

“Kuchel, come here fast! It’s important!” Kenny called out with panic, and Kuchel looked over her shoulder with worry.

She glanced at Levi again, “Don’t worry; I will give you your kiss after school. Now go on, or you will be late.”

Levi wanted to protest but instead he just nodded.

And that day, when Levi was walking back home. He saw her again; this time, Hange sat with her lizards, a bunch of rocks and other inanimate objects. Her glasses were slipping off her nose and she wore clothes too big for her size. Levi felt a gust of wind push against his hair, throwing some into his eyes, and maybe it was colder then yesterday, and maybe Levi just wanted to taste something warm, and so he walked where she sat.

He saw a thousand fireworks go off in her eyes when he nudged her, “Hurry up and make me a good cup of tea or else I won’t play this shitty game with you.”

When Hange handed him a cup of tea, and Levi was suddenly seeing everything around him in colors did he realize; he belonged inside the curves of the silver orbits that ringed around the sun this whole time.

Time was like little butterflies washing away in one sweep on a blue screen, and before they knew, it was already dark. It was a moonless night but Levi still felt warm from the tea party he had with Hange. And he continued to feel warm inside until he opened the door to his home and saw the cracked skull of Kuchel lying on the floor.

Blood seeped through the carpet and the words ‘I made a new friend today, mama’ died on his tongue.


End file.
